WELCOME TO SAINT ANDREW’S
|
 |
| At St. Andrew’s, we welcome everyone who seeks to experience God (in some way) – and we respect the dignity of every human being. Whether you are a year-round Islander, a summer resident or guest, or a first-time visitor, we very much hope you enjoy your time with us. Come as you are, come be who you are, and see! |
|
 |
OVER 100 YEARS OF HISTORY |
| St. Andrew’s began in 1895 as an Episcopal mission, and by 1910 the church building was consecrated. It features Tiffany stained-glass windows and a pulpit the shape of a dory. |
| |
>> explore our traditions |
|
 |
COME AND VISIT |
| We are located on the beautiful Island of Martha’s Vineyard. If that’s not reason enough to make it out here, learn more about our endearing Episcopal church. |
| |
>> come and visit St. Andrew’s |
|
 |
THE EPISCOPAL DIOCESE |
| St. Andrew’s is an episcopal Church, part of the world-wide Anglican Communion, and a member of the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts. |
| |
>> learn about the Episcopal Church |
|
|
|
|
WORSHIP AT ST. ANDREW’S
ON YOUTUBE…
Our Sunday Service:
At 8:00 am every Sunday
And Wednesday Message from the Rector and Priest Associate
Our YouTube channel is St Andrew’s Episcopal Church – Edgartown MA. Just click on the link below. Also-if you have a Facebook account, the video will be posted each week there, too, so you can just click on the video on Facebook!
St. Andrew’s YouTube:
And on Instagram!
@standrewsmv
PENTECOST CAR PARADE!
“Our island speaks many tongues”!
On the day the Holy Spirit descended upon the Apostles, we are having an ecumenical car parade leaving from the “Park & Ride” in Edgartown – MA, at 12 noon, towards the Whaling Church, Main St. Edgartown, where Father Chip and our faithful friends, representatives of other church and congregations on Island, will be standing 6 feet apart to give you a blessing while you are in your car.
We will respect our social distancing orders: only drive by for the car blessing, please do not leave your car.
ALL ARE WELCOME!
An important message from our Bishop:
Last week, our Bishop Diocesan, The Right Reverend Alan Gates, informed all congregations that the previous restrictions and prohibitions on conducting public worship, issued by the Diocese, shall be extended until July 1, 2020. There will be no public worship at St Andrew’s Church until we receive further direction from Bishop Gates on or about July 1, 2020.
Please see full announcement by hitting the tab above – Our Wider Church – and choosing Our Diocese from the drop-down menu.
This week we honor the memory of loved ones gone before us in whose loving memory the altar flowers are given:
Helen Bowring
Charles Warren Bowring, Jr.
Amy Bowring Stowell
Edward Bonner Bowring
Millicent Bowring Whitney
Douglas B. Bowring
OUR DAILY MEDITATION
Please see our Daily Meditation page!
Hit the WORSHIP tab above!
Friday May 29, 2020 Meditation
The Quickening
Psalm 119:93 I will never forget thy precepts: for with them thou hast quickened me.
My favorite references to the experience of “quickening” are in psalm 119 in the KJV of the bible. When I read it, I’m grateful. The psalm reminds me we have tools, God’s word and the holy spirit, to help weather any storm.
My first exposure to a “quickening” was an Easter season when my eldest brother went through what my 5-year-old eyes saw as a strange transformation. I remember running to my father, tears in my eyes, and asking him a series of questions. “Why doesn’t Royal want to hug me? Why does he have such a harsh look on his face? Why are Mummy and Mama praying for him? Did he do something bad, is he being punished?”
He looked at me, responded, “Andrea, your brother needs his space, he’s going through a “quickening”. If he surrenders and allows God to guide, it can be a blessing. If he fights, or becomes too afraid, he may misunderstand his guidance or move in the wrong direction. That’s why your Mother, grandmother and I are praying for him.”
He hugged me and said, “That’s what the season of Easter is about. We cocoon in Christ and emerge anew in Pentecost. Hopefully, strengthened in faith, joy and direction.” Not completely relieved, I asked the question that was really on my mind, “Will he still love us?” He replied, “He will not be the same but yes, I think he’ll still love us.”
For the past month I have been trying to find the language to describe my sense of what’s going on in the world. I sense, on some level, the world is experiencing a grand “quickening”. I’ve searched scripture, contemplated, trolled life experiences, to get a better understanding of what it truly means to be quickened. One thing I’m certain of, “quickening” fundamentally changes how we see ourselves, others, the world. For every person who engages the holy spirit for guidance, as many have, then, a “quickening” this is, and there are blessings to be found.
News anchors compare this time to the Great Depression for its socioeconomic impact; for believers of God in Christ, this may be known as the “Great Quickening or Awakening” if not in words, in the description of the experience. Acts of kindness and demonstrations of faith far outweigh reports of selfishness and cruelty. Amongst fear and uncertainty, people are choosing patience and compassion.
I’ve been thinking, perhaps, the guidance for responding to a “quickening” my father gave me as a child can guide us in reconciling our experience of this crises before the beginning of Pentecost. Like the phoenix rising from ashes, we’re emerging from COVID 19. Thank you, God, for allowing us to live this season of Easter 2020 in this year of our Lord. Thank you for deepening our faith, giving us greater knowledge, a firmer foundation and clearer direction. May we embrace Pentecost strengthened in faith, in joy and purpose.
In Faith and Peace, Andrea Bolling
|
|
|
OUR WEEKLY PRAYER LIST
|
Carolyn, Michael, Mandy, Olive, Benji, Ingrid, Sara, Brian, Daisy, Randy, Donna, Billy, Sue, Robert, Christine, Greg, Dan, Edward, Kristine, Deborah, Andrew, Ann, Heather, Amy, Kit, Thomas, Brad, Lorraine, Bill, Marie, Summer, Dennis, Alice, Alexa, Molly, and Gloria.
In Thanksgiving for the Blessings in our lives: The graduation of John (Jack) Slayton from UMass Boston.
We pray for those who have entered larger life:
Please email any names you would like added to
the Prayer List to office@standrewsmv.org
First names only will be posted to the website.
|
UPCOMING EVENTS AT ST. ANDREW’S
A Word From Our Rector
|
Dear St Andrew’s Church family and friends,
The lilies, daffodils, and forsythia are blooming, the birds are singing, and the light green buds on the trees and plants all around are peeking out from the hard, seemingly lifeless, surfaces of the gray-brown sticks, and the once-frozen earth. There is life! And here is life again!
It is my deepest hope and prayer this Easter 2020 that you continue to reach out and find ways to connect, and re-connect, with others, as we all remain determined to get through this pandemic that has forced us to distance ourselves from each other. Although there appears to be many things we might learn from this current challenge, my prayer above all others is that we all realize, and remember, just how much we all mean to each other, and how important it is to make our time on earth count. If we try to keep that in mind as we resume some semblance of “normal life”, we might find we’d rather resume life in a different way, one that invites us to focus on our relationships with each other. Journey home by another way. And perhaps remember we really don’t have “all the time in the world.”
As Christians, our own notion of God is all about relationships with others, and indeed, with God. God appeared as one of us in the Christ child at Christmas, God shared our life with us while Jesus was among us in human form, and now God, at Easter, assures us that God will not leave us when we die. For those of us who choose to enter into the life of faith, into the body of the cosmic Christ, we shall have new life, a timeless life, the sort of life that does not perish. Having done some thinking and work to “die to our old selves,” moving into a life “in Christ” will promise us a lifetime of new things, renewals, conversions, and resurrections. We will be with God.
One critical way to do this, of course, is to renew your life, and commitment, to our common life in Christ as St Andrew’s Church. Please, just come. Come and be with us. Come and enjoy the presence of the living God, who loves us and pulls us ever more deeply into the great mystery of the Great Love.
I can promise you one thing: WE will be renewed by the Spirit of God within you. And I pray that YOU, too, will be nourished by our sharing the God within us, with you.
I wish you and yours all good things in this season of new life and renewal—The Great Fifty Days of Easter—and pray that we may see you soon at our little jewel of a church, St Andrew’s.
And may God continue to bless us—every one.
Faithfully yours,
Father Chip+
.>> read more
|
OUR VESTRY
|
Wardens: Carl Malmquist and Mardi Moran
Treasurer: Wesley Brown
Parish Clerk: Christine White
Members at Large: Chris Buchholz, Michael Balay, Andrea Bolling, Jessica Buckley, Bonnie Deitz and Barbara Rush
|
|
|
| |
|
|
